There are several ways on how mobians gained powers of several kinds.
There's the nonsensical- either useless or totally destructive powers;
-Mobians who've prayed to gods or demons FOR said power or consulted real magicians, it can be any-one and any-god, so long they can teach them on how to activate it and/or gain it.
-Ancestors are common causes not only for genetic issues, mutations..But also certain powers. Dependant on family tree, there might've been that one rather eccentric member, whose had an occultist religious background or got tested on illegally/legally if they had the money, in order to see, if their power would prosper. In some family heritages every new member could inherit it or it was strictly gender-coded, or simply not every gene-pool corresponded with the modification.
And simply natural powers, coming from species or nature itself:
-Invented genetic mutation
E.g. Chameleon + dog hybrid mobian = invisibility & good sense of smell / e.g 2: lizard + fish = can breathe underwater + tough scales/skin
-Natural ability genes planted into other mobians artificially ("rich people thing" criticism, see politics page)
Forceful gene manipulation primarily, caused by magnetism experiments or sun-absorbing abilities from seedrians/plants.
Powers can also cause sicknesses and to those especially gullible: Thinking they grew up with a curse or god has cursed them.
Such people tend to be very unstable- be it mentally or physically due to their power not corresponding well to their genes or species.
Quite more often than not, hospitals and psychiatries end up being extremely dangerous locations to be in, just for the simple fact of sick individuals with access to highly destructive powers, can cause a scene and even hurt the staff around them, due to that reason, the pay for hospital workers is quite high, since they basically risk their lives to help those in need.
Some hospitals, especially big, industrial urban cities, tend to hire any sort of mobian with superpowers and medical knowledge, sending them to a special medical school, to train those, who know basically nothing, in comparison to people who've studied medicine and have any sort of expertise, be lifelong experience or university-grads.
While some have gained powers if voluntary or not, some people have forced them to become reality thanks to advanced, modern technology. Cybernetic implants, robotic prosthetics or even just the simple fact of outrageous weapon-designs that can be hidden from plain sight, all contribute to the factor of increasing crime-rates and even risk of getting hurt by random people on the street. while not only mentally-ill people receive outrageous powers sometimes, it's also true, that some abuse their gained powers in order to hurt those around them or commit crimes, or if even-worse;
Illegal implants.
There has also been a rise in the import from illegal implants, prosthetics, high-tech weapons and hybrids of both, aswell as illegal upgrade-chips already used for devices and/or weapons.
A majority of such tech comes from Asia, which added popularity toward wanting to live there, causing another massive over-population issue there in the past years.
In order to use robotic prosthetics or any sort of self-defense weapons, you have to register such and contact a viable engineer trusted by the government or who's got a license to practice the calibration of such. A modern-day branch in college one can take for engineering types, is the one for specifically prosthetics for home and/or home-use. While that degree is difficult to achieve, it is a much shorter course than the rest of the engineereing curriculums are, since they are high-demand and needed a lot on the battlefield as well.
Another reason why a mobian might have unnatural powers, is the use of ancient angel-technology/weaponry. Such examples are chaos- or sol-emeralds, or even particularly angel-made crystals, whose powers were unlocked by pure refinement of the raw stone extracted.
An example of a well-known mobian, who had used such, are Knuckles's echidna tribe, or princess Blaze.
Originally, angelic ancestors with half-angel families, (demi) gods or even just normal angels, who've passed down their arsenal, is the reason, as to why even such powerful stones and energy has been found in the first place. Essentially used to defeat evil, is also part of...
RELATED TO CANON; Super/Hyper forms, the Sonic X shadow-form and Dark Gaia..
-SUPER/HYPER FORMS;
Originate from angels from centuries ago, at the start of the angel/demon war, back when all it took to banish a demon, was the aforementioned super-form. It's an ancient art, practiced by few mobians and even known by such. It takes active Geology-knowledge, into the specific field of supernatural mutations, to know how to activate and use it. Basically any archeologist, or person who's well-informed, can be trained to used it. Though only its rudimentary function, that of a super-form, and some basic wish-based skillsets like power, strength, protection, etc. Combat-based form. The hyper-form although, puts you closer to the level of a god. Whilst only of course basic-gods, the hyper-form takes it a step further, with time-abilities, space-bending, telekinesis and of course, much higher skill-set AND ceiling, for combat.
-SHADOW FORM;
Originates from demons. It was a simple rage-induced aura, that would heighten the aggressor's radius, sight, strength and power-strength too. It is primarily used for violence and violence only. Rarily is this form used for genuine, justified self-defense. The shadow-form is on par with the super-form, with the primary difference of not being able to grant wishes.
-DARK GAIA / CHAOS EMERALD CRISIS;
Were-forms of course for mobians, but certain species malfunctioning like moths and sea-creatures for example, that are tied to the earth's planets/resources. But other odd occurences like mutations can occur.
There are times, where it has slip-ups, causing an increase of comets to fall and hit the earth, one of the reasons, why they fall at night.
The dark gaia is necessary, to balance out what angels jave accidentally started; Said super- and dark-forms. Gaia is like its yin- and yang. It puts good into evil, and malice into good, by being a mostly neutral occurence. Dark gaia is unpredictable and only summonable by force. (i.e, imbalances on earth due to the activation of alternate forms.
Gaia is intertwined with fate and luck, which means that in a karma-like fashion, certain mobians could lose their forms out of nowhere, as gaia has neutralised it, by absorbing it's chaotic energy, caused by the imbalance in the world.